Vintage boxing artwork
THE RING ALMANAC
THE RING ALMANAC
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Heavyweight · Bare-Knuckle & Gloves (1880–1919)

James J. Jeffries

"The Boilermaker"

Top 100 · #93 · 53.7 points
19
Wins
1
Losses
2
Draws
16
KOs
84%
KO %
Born
1875
Died
1953
Nationality
USA
Career
1895–1910

A huge, durable champion who retired unbeaten before an ill-fated comeback against Jack Johnson in 1910.

Titles & Honours

Career Timeline

1895–1910
  1. Milestone

    First recorded professional bout

    vs Hank Lorraine · W KO

    View fight record
  2. Signature fight

    vs Peter Jackson

    W TKO · Woodward's Pavilion , San Francisco, California, U.S.. Archive selection: one of the first three wins over distinct fighters profiled here, not an expert-selected signature fight.

    View fight record
  3. Title history

    Title reign begins

    World Heavyweight Champion (1899–1905). Year from profile title history; exact title-winning bout not identified.

    View title / honour details
  4. Signature fight

    vs Bob Fitzsimmons

    W KO · Coney Island Athletic Club, Brooklyn , New York, U.S.. Archive selection: one of the first three wins over distinct fighters profiled here, not an expert-selected signature fight.

    View fight record
  5. Signature fight

    vs James J. Corbett

    W KO · Seaside Athletic Club, Coney Island , New York, U.S.. Archive selection: one of the first three wins over distinct fighters profiled here, not an expert-selected signature fight.

    View fight record
  6. Milestone

    Latest recorded bout

    vs Jack Johnson · L TKO. Not necessarily the retirement date.

    View fight record

Derived from the current archive and profile honours. Title-reign years are not exact bout dates; title claims are not independently verified. Signature fights use existing profile selections, or clearly labelled wins over other archived fighters when no selections exist. Year-only dates retain their original precision.

Photo Archive

Unknown; 1910; Albumen silver print; Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth, Texas; P1976.2.73
Unknown; 1910; Albumen silver print; Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth, Texas; P1976.2.73
Jeffries corbett2
Jeffries corbett2
Title: Jeffries & wife Abstract/medium: 1 negative : glass ; 5 x 7 in. or smaller.
Title: Jeffries & wife Abstract/medium: 1 negative : glass ; 5 x 7 in. or smaller.
Heavyweight boxing champion James J. Jeffries.
Heavyweight boxing champion James J. Jeffries.
2-10-11, Jack Johnson - Jeffries [boxe] : [photographie de presse] / [Agence Rol]
2-10-11, Jack Johnson - Jeffries [boxe] : [photographie de presse] / [Agence Rol]
Original caption: "Fitzsimmons and Jefferies."
Original caption: "Fitzsimmons and Jefferies."
Johnson jeff
Johnson jeff

7 archival photographs under their original licences.

Fight-by-Fight Record

DateResultOpponentMethodRoundVenue
1895-10-29WHank LorraineKO2Los Angeles Athletic Club , Los Angeles, California , U.S.
1896-07-02WDan LongTKO2Occidental Athletic Club, San Francisco , California, U.S.
1896-12-01WHank GriffinKO14Oakland Tribune , San Francisco, California, U.S.
1897-04-09WTheodore Van BuskirkKO2National Athletic Club, San Francisco, California, U.S.
1897-05-18WHenry BakerTKO9Olympic Athletic Club , San Francisco, California, U.S.
1897-07-16DGus RuhlinPTS20Mechanic's Pavilion , San Francisco, California, U.S.
1897-08-25NCDan LongNC6Hazard's Pavilion , Los Angeles , California, U.S.
1897-11-30DJoe ChoynskiPTS20National Athletic Club, San Francisco, California, U.S.
1898-02-28WJoe GoddardTKO4Hazard's Pavilion, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
1898-03-22WPeter JacksonTKO3Woodward's Pavilion , San Francisco, California, U.S.
1898-04-22WMexican Pete EverettTKO3Olympic Athletic Club, San Francisco, California, U.S.
1898-05-06WTom SharkeyPTS20Mechanic's Pavilion, San Francisco, California, U.S.
1898-08-05WBob ArmstrongPTS10Lenox Athletic Club, New York City, New York , U.S.
1899-06-09WBob FitzsimmonsKO11Coney Island Athletic Club, Brooklyn , New York, U.S.
1899-11-03WTom SharkeyPTS25Coney Island Athletic Club, Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
1900-04-06WJohn FinneganKO1Cadillac Athletic Club, Detroit, Michigan , U.S.
1900-05-11WJames J. CorbettKO23Seaside Athletic Club, Coney Island , New York, U.S.
1901-09-17NCHank GriffinNC4Hazard's Pavilion, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
1901-09-24WJoe KennedyKO2Reliance Athletic Club , Oakland , California, U.S.
1901-11-15WGus RuhlinRTD6Mechanic's Pavilion, San Francisco, California, U.S.
1902-07-25WBob FitzsimmonsKO8San Francisco Athletic Club, San Francisco, California, U.S.
1903-08-14WJames J. CorbettTKO10Mechanic's Pavilion, San Francisco, California, U.S.
1904-08-26WJack MunroeTKO2Mechanic's Pavilion, San Francisco, California, U.S.
1910-07-04LJack JohnsonTKO15Reno, Nevada , U.S.

Showing 24 of 24 recorded fights · last updated 2026-10-11. Imported record tables are not independently verified and may be incomplete. Early-era logs include newspaper decisions (NWS), which are not counted in the official totals above.

Record notes

Fight record last retrieved: 2026-10-11. Title histories remain subject to archival review.

Historical-era totals differ between record-keeping conventions (newspaper decisions, exhibitions).

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